Who do I listen to?

[williamsl]

I take 200 mg. Lamictal BID for epilepsy.  I've been taking 20 mg. Lexapro at night for depression.  Old psychiatrist said to increase Lamictal to 200 mg. in morning.  Due to insurance I'm now seeing a new psychiatrist.  New one said I should always have taken Lexapro in morning to get my mind going and to step up Lamictal in weekly increments until I'm at 300 mg.  Who do I believe?

[williamsl]

Thank you so much for your help. Yes, am in the U.S.   I had a successful career in the med. field for 21 years.  No, not nurse or Dr.  Due to constant worry and concern for family members, I became unable to concentrate and the overwhelming stress started to cause problems at work.  I could never forgive myself if my problems caused harm to any of my patients, so I ended up asking my boss to fire me so I can hopefully get unemployment.   It has devasted my husband and me financially.  This was unplanned. Everyone in my family is dumbfounded.    Only my therapist and husband know the details of how these things make me feel.  Yesterday, I was driving to a function that happened to be the same route I would take to work.  It freaked me out so much, I turned around and ended up having an emergency appt. with my therapist.  My husband had to bring me home.  For the first time, I really knew what it was like to want to die.  I'm going to call my new Dr. first thing tomorrow.  I'm so thankful that I knew this was a biological thing and the feeling would pass.  But, I will continue to do everything I can for myself and will not let the beast get me.

[LeftCoastChick]

Lamactil is a great mood stabilizer, it helps with depression immensely. I''ve been on a load of SSRI/SNRI's, and non worked for me.I'm up tp 250mgs at night ot Lamactil, and it's smoothed  out my moods. It's definitely safe to up to 300, I would trust your new pdoc, I take the Lamactil at night, it makes me sleepy. Lexapro can be activating, which means it could make you hyper during the day, so your new pdoc is right. If you aren't quite sure, you can always ask questions about your meds with your new pdoc, you can also ask your pharmacist, and there is load of info on the internet.

It sounds like your new pdoc knows what s/he is doing. What is your diagnosis? You have nothing on your profile, so I am also being general, I figured you are in the US by the insurance. :)

I hope this helps you,
sincerely,
LeftCoastFemme
Depression Co-Community Leader